Game Day Thread Pats vs Panthers: Preseason Game 3 GDT

[oceansizer]

Last year’s opening game at Gillette seems to be forgotten because, ya know, the sky is falling.

Sometimes some bad plays should be treated as awakening. I do not even treat the game with the Panthers seriously because of the result. To me it was like a training ground for players who wanted to sneak into the team. There were some pros and cons of that game but drawing conclusions about general situation of the team at this point of the season is misunderstanding.Like you mentioned, after the first game of the previous season we should have turned off TVs and stop being Pats supporters.

 

[PatriotsNumero1Fan]

There needs to be a different format for preseason games aside of making a lot of cash for the owners..

Sat back last night hoping to get a glimpse of what to expect in game #1, but the game was like watching grass grow.. is it me or are there seemingly more commercials than usual??

The only good thing about last night was the announcing of Socci and Zolak, really like the perspective of Ninkovich he gives great insight.. Perrilo and Hart are just a distraction to try to sell their PFW...

Couple of observations, the call for a new WR is difficult as it has taken a year for some of the newer WR's to get up to speed with #12, so expecting receiver X to come in and fill a role is difficult..

Thought I saw a different defense in Games #1 and 2, but last night looked like same old either that or it was a classic "ropa dopa" to help the other teams sleep on the NEP...

BB pulling the three Pats who were cheerleading after a stop on a two point conversion and schooling them on how to behave is classic...

Did not see any helmet penalties, but then I went to bed at the end of the 3rd quarter...

Waddle better take a couple of doses of smart pills to avoid stupid penalties..

There are certain wrs that are just too good and can come in and help. A lot of people are giddy about dorsett but it’s one game and it’s not like he went off.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Moving the goalposts already ?

No, maybe next time you make a snarky comment you can ask me what I meant in my original post . I was merely pointing out we need help in certain areas such as WR. I never said the sky was falling.

 

[Silver Blue&Red]

Couldn't watch...how did our OT's do? Thanks.

I missed most of it too, with nightmare streaming problems. But I'm watching the replay on NFLN now. If your able to watch.

 

[JMC00]

The Panthers first drive ate up 10 minutes...aided by a ridiculous phantom call by the reprehensible Torbert.

I mean they huddled up for it which means one ref said it wasn't a flag which i'm sure Torbert came in saying he saw it, which ends the discussion.

I get it's a preseason game but what an absolute ****ing horseshit call, that and the Waddle one, so no one saw the dipshit jump into Waddle's face 1 second before he pushed the guy away? ********. They see a phantom PI on McCourty when the guy tripped on his own feet but they don't see a guy jumping in the face 2 feet from where the ball carrier went down. Absolute joke

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

Couldn't watch...how did our OT's do? Thanks.

Waddle had a stupid dead ball personal foul that cost the team a TD. He was briefly benched for Ulrick John, of all people. Brown was much better tonight, but overall the #1 O-line was really pushed around by the Panthers front 7. No running lanes at all. Sometimes pass protection was fairly good though.

 

[luuked]

There are certain wrs that are just too good and can come in and help. A lot of people are giddy about dorsett but it’s one game and it’s not like he went off.

I don't know how often this needs to be said. But it is not just one game with any of the players. They have been in camp for 3 weeks now, so the coaching staff has not only those preseason games but they have the entire offseason and those about 20 camp practices to judge players on.

Because we get to see the players only once a week we will never have the full picture that the staff has when it comes to evaluating the talent (or lack thereof) on this team. And if Dorsett didn't show anything in practice he would not be a lock for most of the beat guys and certainly not be playing and sitting with the 1s for three weeks now.

It is the same procedure as ever year. Don't judge any team based on preseason games because you have no idea what the objective for any unit in each of those games is. Similarly, give the team some time in the regular season to find an identity and don't judge players by their mistakes but by how fast they can fix and learn from them. You want to see them fire from all cylinders come middle of October/November.

 

[goheels22002]

I don't know how often this needs to be said. But it is not just one game with any of the players. They have been in camp for 3 weeks now, so the coaching staff has not only those preseason games but they have the entire offseason and those about 20 camp practices to judge players on.

Because we get to see the players only once a week we will never have the full picture that the staff has when it comes to evaluating the talent (or lack thereof) on this team. And if Dorsett didn't show anything in practice he would not be a lock for most of the beat guys and certainly not be playing and sitting with the 1s for three weeks now.

It is the same procedure as ever year. Don't judge any team based on preseason games because you have no idea what the objective for any unit in each of those games is. Similarly, give the team some time in the regular season to find an identity and don't judge players by their mistakes but by how fast they can fix and learn from them. You want to see them fire from all cylinders come middle of October/November.

While everything you wrote is true, the Patriots sucked last night, pure and simple. Without Cannon, they have serious issues at tackle, the offense couldn't finish, the receiving corps is thin and maybe the weakest since 2006 and the defense is a question mark.

On defense, there was a lot of mixing and matching, and they didn't game plan against the Panthers (obviously.) So maybe we'll see a disciplined, aggressive unit on opening night. I am not at all comfortable going into this season.

The only good news to come out of that game was that there were no significant injuries that I can recall. Hill was moving around on his ankle after he got horse-collared and rolled up on. Were there any other injuries of note?

 

[luuked]

While everything you wrote is true, the Patriots sucked last night, pure and simple. Without Cannon, they have serious issues at tackle, the offense couldn't finish, the receiving corps is thin and maybe the weakest since 2006 and the defense is a question mark.

On defense, there was a lot of mixing and matching, and they didn't game plan against the Panthers (obviously.) So maybe we'll see a disciplined, aggressive unit on opening night. I am not at all comfortable going into this season.

The only good news to come out of that game was that there were no significant injuries that I can recall. Hill was moving around on his ankle after he got horse-collared and rolled up on. Were there any other injuries of note?

And they looked great against the Eagles a week before and people where almost jerking off over the aggressiveness and pressure. In my mind both games are similarly useless to predict how they will look in the regular season because you just don't know the priorities of both teams in a preseason matchup whereas in the regular season it is pretty clear.. win the game.

Neither am I saying everything will be great and they will go unbeaten nor am I nervous about any of the units. We simply don't have enough information about anything that involves the team as a whole.

All I can say is that from my POV individually our DL looks deeper and more talented as does our LB group relative to last year. The secondary remains strong. Now how all of those pieces fit together and what the result will look like I have no clue.

I am not worried about the offense as long as we don't suffer additional key injures because Josh/Brady and the RB/WR/TE groups will produce another top 5 unit.

We will most probably end up in the AFCCG and then a few plays here and there will decide both that game and the SB.

 

[Joey007]

I mean they huddled up for it which means one ref said it wasn't a flag which i'm sure Torbert came in saying he saw it, which ends the discussion.

I get it's a preseason game but what an absolute ****ing horseshit call, that and the Waddle one, so no one saw the dipshit jump into Waddle's face 1 second before he pushed the guy away? ********. They see a phantom PI on McCourty when the guy tripped on his own feet but they don't see a guy jumping in the face 2 feet from where the ball carrier went down. Absolute joke

I’m telling ya, for whatever reason we have a terrible time with refs whenever we face the Panthers.

 

[Ring 6]

So where is this new aggressive scheme with Flores making all of the decisions on defense?
If I am supppsed to believe that last week signaled a philosophical change and what defense we play is up to Flores and he is going to be really aggressive, what am I supposed to think about last night?
I mean Hightower said......
@PP2 can you help me out here?

 

[Sicilian]

As always, we didn't learn much about the state of the TEAM last night. But there were interesting nuggets that will be interesting to interpret in hindsight once we see the final 53:

1) Rivers seemed to be out there most of the game (though now that I think about it, I can't remember how much I saw him in the first half). It seems like Keonta was running a lot with the 1's, Rivers with the 2's. Given we've been assuming he's part of the four man rotation at DE, that was surprising to see in this game. Whether that was a true indication of the depth chart, or a "Let's see if Davis can play" type of deal remains to be seen.

2) Similar deal with Patterson, though he definitely played the whole game. My guess on this is his final role is still very much in flux. I believe he'll make the team (both for a unique skillset and general lack of depth at WR), but how much he's used in each role is still being evaluated.

3) John coming in for Waddle as the first backup at OT seems to indicate he's the 4th OT if Cannon is healthy, especially since at that moment Brady was still in the game. You're probably not d**kin' about with a project in that spot.

4) None of the RB's looked GOOD, but Hill looked BETTER than Gillislie once again. Hopefully his injury wasn't serious, because I think it's a foregone conclusion now that he's beaten Mike out.

5) Bentley getting some time wearing the green dot so early is an EXCELLENT sign to me. Only players in recent memory to get it as a rookie were Mayo and Hightower. Could just be a sign that they prefer the MLB's to wear it, but combined with everything else we've seen from the kid, I think there's reason to be encouraged there.

6) Decker is miles away from contributing. MILES away. No time with the 1's, and mixed results against the 2's and 3's (granted, Hoyer did him no favors).

7) Rowe is likely to be our #2 outside CB. I think JJ is our primary slot guy once back to full speed, and Dawson is making the team in some role as a 2nd rounder. That leaves basically one spot:

7a) Crossen showed something last night. His energy was just as high, and he's a real good tackler for a CB. No penalties, which is good to see, hopefully learned from some teaching moments. I feel like he's the frontrunner for that 5th CB spot right now, which leads to:

7b) Jason McCourty following his brother's footsteps and getting some time at S. Could be seen two ways: Either they feel he can make a similar switch, and with some encouraging things from the young CB competition feel he contributes more as a S, or this is his last way of proving some value before they have to make the cut. Seemed a little late on the coverage on one play (though that's ALWAYS dangerous to judge from the TV without knowing the playcall), but made a good read and sure tackle on the goalline. I'm cautiously intrigued, and any comp that increases the chances of bumping Richards out of any defensive snaps is good for me.

 

[Deus Irae]

Not sure I understand where "showing some promise" is coming from. That would only apply to Patterson. Dorsett and Hogan have proven themselves beyond a doubt, and Patterson isn't far behind although the routes he runs are limited, and his presence on the field does limit what the offense can do, at least on one side of the field.

I may be the person on Patsfans.com who was most in favor of the Dorsett trade, and I'm certainly hoping that he makes the team and gets a real chance to show what he can do with Brady throwing him the ball. However, the idea that Dorsett has proven himself beyond a doubt is not one that I buy.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

As always, we didn't learn much about the state of the TEAM last night. But there were interesting nuggets that will be interesting to interpret in hindsight once we see the final 53:

1) Rivers seemed to be out there most of the game (though now that I think about it, I can't remember how much I saw him in the first half). It seems like Keonta was running a lot with the 1's, Rivers with the 2's. Given we've been assuming he's part of the four man rotation at DE, that was surprising to see in this game. Whether that was a true indication of the depth chart, or a "Let's see if Davis can play" type of deal remains to be seen.

2) Similar deal with Patterson, though he definitely played the whole game. My guess on this is his final role is still very much in flux. I believe he'll make the team (both for a unique skillset and general lack of depth at WR), but how much he's used in each role is still being evaluated.

3) John coming in for Waddle as the first backup at OT seems to indicate he's the 4th OT if Cannon is healthy, especially since at that moment Brady was still in the game. You're probably not d**kin' about with a project in that spot.

4) None of the RB's looked GOOD, but Hill looked BETTER than Gillislie once again. Hopefully his injury wasn't serious, because I think it's a foregone conclusion now that he's beaten Mike out.

5) Bentley getting some time wearing the green dot so early is an EXCELLENT sign to me. Only players in recent memory to get it as a rookie were Mayo and Hightower. Could just be a sign that they prefer the MLB's to wear it, but combined with everything else we've seen from the kid, I think there's reason to be encouraged there.

6) Decker is miles away from contributing. MILES away. No time with the 1's, and mixed results against the 2's and 3's (granted, Hoyer did him no favors).

7) Rowe is likely to be our #2 outside CB. I think JJ is our primary slot guy once back to full speed, and Dawson is making the team in some role as a 2nd rounder. That leaves basically one spot:

7a) Crossen showed something last night. His energy was just as high, and he's a real good tackler for a CB. No penalties, which is good to see, hopefully learned from some teaching moments. I feel like he's the frontrunner for that 5th CB spot right now, which leads to:

7b) Jason McCourty following his brother's footsteps and getting some time at S. Could be seen two ways: Either they feel he can make a similar switch, and with some encouraging things from the young CB competition feel he contributes more as a S, or this is his last way of proving some value before they have to make the cut. Seemed a little late on the coverage on one play (though that's ALWAYS dangerous to judge from the TV without knowing the playcall), but made a good read and sure tackle on the goalline. I'm cautiously intrigued, and any comp that increases the chances of bumping Richards out of any defensive snaps is good for me.

I'll look at every rep (yay to not be working 60-70 hrs a week!) But I think he was not out there for any significant snaps. Saw him inside a bit which he shouldn't be in the reg season.

Definitely seemed like a "let's see what we have" all over the place. Again Davis & GG are fighting for spots rn or will be playing st in. 2 weeks.

Honestly many thought this was the "dress rehearsal" game when it just wasn't the case at all.

All 3 preseason games have been spent on figuring out who we should keep. Where they would/could possibly help us & given some guys every chance to make an impression.

 

[DaBruinz]

I don't have time to read through the whole thread, but I feel like we are in trouble on offense for the first four weeks without Edelman. Not much there after Gronk & Hogan to take the pressure off of those 2. I wish we had known about Edelman's suspension before we let Danny Amendola go.

You're basing this on a preseason game that they clearly didn't put more than a vanilla game plan together for?
Did you watch the game? Based on the comments of other people both Dorsett and Patterson should provide plenty. Then you have James White, Hill, and Michel as well.

How long did the 1st team O-line play?
How many snaps did Gronk and Edelman take last night?

 

[DaBruinz]

There are certain wrs that are just too good and can come in and help. A lot of people are giddy about dorsett but it’s one game and it’s not like he went off.

Like who? Please enlighten everyone (including BB) since you seem to know...

 

[DaBruinz]

No, maybe next time you make a snarky comment you can ask me what I meant in my original post . I was merely pointing out we need help in certain areas such as WR. I never said the sky was falling.

You're *****ing because someone made a snarky remark about your pathetic snarky remark? The irony is amazing..

 

[ashley]

One takeaway from last night for me is that we don't have alot of good quality depth at alot of positions (outside RB and d-line). Not sure who does though but positions of concern would be wr, ot, lb, safety, cb and obviously QB if tomorrow gets hurt.

 

[DaBruinz]

I'll look at every rep (yay to not be working 60-70 hrs a week!) But I think he was not out there for any significant snaps. Saw him inside a bit which he shouldn't be in the reg season.

Definitely seemed like a "let's see what we have" all over the place. Again Davis & GG are fighting for spots rn or will be playing st in. 2 weeks.

Honestly many thought this was the "dress rehearsal" game when it just wasn't the case at all.

All 3 preseason games have been spent on figuring out who we should keep. Where they would/could possibly help us & given some guys every chance to make an impression.

With the change that they don't have to make any cut-downs until after the 4th game, I think that BB has changed his tact with the games. He may have also taken into consideration the pre-season injuries that have occurred across the league as well in regards to the bigger name players...

 

[DaBruinz]

One takeaway from last night for me is that we don't have alot of good quality depth at alot of positions (outside RB and d-line). Not sure who does though but positions of concern would be wr, ot, lb, safety, cb and obviously QB if tomorrow gets hurt.

Ashley -
Not sure how you have Safety and CB as depth concerns..

Safety they are 3 deep with starting quality players in Harmon, D-Mac, and Chung. It's only after that they have an questions. What team is 4 deep at safety?

Coreners - This was a question this year with Butler being gone and J. Jones coming back from injury. C. Jones looked good last year at CB before he got hurt. From all accounts, he didn't look out of place last night. J. Jones seems to be doing well, which is good for us. He was our best Slot Corner last year and we really missed him more than Butler in the SB imho.

The question to ask yourself is how many teams are 4+ deep at CB across the league. Most teams would be in trouble losing their top CB.. So I see the Patriots in that position.

I do agree with you about WR and QB. But most teams would be in trouble if they lost their top QB..